Michael Oher Struggles

Michael was brought up in poor project housing that was consumed by drugs, alcohol, and gangs. He was pushed in and out of foster homes forcefully being separated from his mother and siblings. As the movie showed in harsh flashbacks, Michael is deeply affected by the forceful separation from his mother. This constant absence from the mother or other supportive figures leaves Michael unable to make a secure attachment to any strong base. Erikson’s stage of trust versus mistrust is displayed due to Michael’s inability to count on the kindness and compassion of others which leads him to withdraw from his surroundings (p 248). This abrupt memory in life affects Michael in his idea of family and commitment. The harsh environment also kept Michael from attending school, and the times he did there was no support for him to even try in school.

Summary: Michael Oher was a young boy who had to go through rough times as he was growing up. Fatheralong, Oher was taken in by the Tuohy family after they saw Oher didn’t have a home or anyone to go to for help. Once Oher gained the love of the Tuohy family, he became their adopted son, and soon he became the star football player of Briarcrest Christian School (BiJog). He became an interest to many colleges and after high school, he attended University of Mississippi.

As an introduction, Michael Oher was a famous Black American football player that came from a poor family that consist of thirteen children, an absentee father and an alcoholic plus drug addict mother in the village of Memphis, Tennessee (Bell, 2009). In Michael’s childhood, he did not enjoy any love or caring from his parent as both of them do not want to be in charge of him and

For Peter Cameron’s short story,“Homework”, Michael seeks an answer to the meaning of life. Michael is a depressed teenager, like Donny from Anne Tyler’s short story, “Teenage Wastelands”.

As he receives all these gifts, he becomes more comfortable with his friends and surroundings at home and at school as well. He tested in the 98 percentile under “protective instincts”. This can be seen not only on test papers, but also in near-death situations such as stopping the airbag from killing SJ and protecting Mrs. Tuohy from the gangsters in his hometown. Every other subject his teachers have tested him in, he has failed miserably. Therefore, Mrs. Tuohy hired a tutor, Miss Sue, to help Michael get better grades and learn more efficiently in school. Other than schoolwork, Oher has grown into a great football player as well; he has learned to play his position at left tackle, protecting the quarterback’s blind side.

Unfortunately, his father was murdered in prison so he could not overcome that obstacle. However, he was taken in by a foster family named the Tuohy’s who made him happy and treated him like real family. Biography.com says, “The young boy was finally taken in by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy when he was 16, and the Tuohys became Oher's legal guardians when he was 17”. In his junior year of high school, Oher began to excel in football. By the beginning of his senior year, Oher was the starting left tackle on the varsity football team. He quickly became a top football prospect in the state of Tennessee, which led to multiple scholarship offers from Division 1 schools.” This means that when he was taken in by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy and they became his legal guardians he began to excel at school and football. His mother was taken into a rehabilitation center, but this was an improvement since at least Michael was able to see her sometimes. His other siblings were all taken to foster care. It’s amazing that while he had all of these obstacles he still overcame them with a determined attitude and the help of some special people.

Starting in chapter four, “The Blank Slate”, Michael Oher moves to Briarcrest High School, a wealthy private school. He no longer lives in the slum or poverty stricken neighborhoods he once lived. Now he’s having a human experience, away from the monotony and struggles of a kid from the ghetto. Being as such, he has a tough time adjusting, lacking a base of knowledge of how anything works. For example, when Oher gets

The life outcome that Wes Moore, the author, had was different from the other Wes More. He was doing bad in his education as well with his interactions with the family. Every teacher declared that Wes was a poor student and was unmotivated to pay attention in class. The teachers came to conclusion that Wes had a problem socializing, however; Wes “was a victim of a monocultural educational environment that alienates and denigrates him” (Sue, 230). The school staff was unable to see that the problem existed within the institution/ environment and not on Wes, because they were focusing only in one culture which made Wes feel as an outsider. The

As a young child Michael suffered abuse and enforcement to succeed by his father. Michael has said that this has affected his physical development as there had been times when his father would come to see him and he would be sick. This was just from the fear he had of his father hurting him if he did not do well.

Do you know what if feels like to live in a household with fourteen other people? Do you know how it feels now knowing if you whether or not you will have a roof over your head while you are sleeping the next day? When you live in this type of known environment, it is hard to do make it out become successful in life. All odds were against a man named Michael Jerome Williams growing up in these same situations and circumstances. Michael Oher was a young homeless boy that was adopted and turned himself around. Childhood for Michael Oher was living in a small home and being one of twelve children. He lived in the worst part of Memphis Tennessee, he never knew his father. He did not receive much care as a child as his mother was an alcoholic and his father spent most of his time in prison. When Michael was in high school his father was killed while in the prison. His mother was addicted to cocaine since Michael was born and he and his siblings began to separate at an early age. Oher failed in first and second standards and had to change many schools. Some were sent to foster homes, some stayed with friends and others lived on the streets. Unfortunately, Michael was in and out of foster homes and ultimately was homeless. He was basically on his own from the beginning of his life. He does not think of himself as being tough just trying to get by, to survive.
 He had friends who were as determined as he was to get out. He had brothers and sisters who helped keep him

As summer football practice begins, readers are introduced to the notable players of the 1988 Permian Panthers; Boobie Miles, Jerrod McDougal, Mike Winchell, and Brian Chavez. We are introduced first to James Earl “Boobie” Miles Jr., the team’s all-star running back. Boobie lived a very hard life from the start. At the age of three his mother moved to Oklahoma and left Boobie with his grandmother. He lived for a short time with his father, but allegations of physical abuse resulted in a lifetime of being bounced from foster home to foster home. Before Boobie started high school, his uncle, L.V. Miles, adopted him giving him a stable home and a positive role model. Influenced by his uncle, Boobie began to excel at sports, especially football. Football provided another “home” where Boobie got the kind of attention and admiration that led to opportunities someone from his background didn't typically get a full ride scholarship to college. He also gained a lot of attention for his attitude that was that nobody was as talented as he was. In the book Boobie is constantly quoted in the book as saying, “Put Boobie in if you wanna win” (Bissinger, Buzz). Next we are introduced to small offensive lineman

The main character Micheal Oher’s, who is introduced to us through his rough life growing up. Micheal never knew his father and his mother was a drug addict. HIs mother gave birth to a total of fifteen children, who of course due to her drug addiction raised themselves basically. Michael spent his teenage years running away from a string of foster homes and situations. Michael got tired of foster care

In the book entitled Out of Their League, David Meggyesy describes his life as a football player from high school through his days with the St. Louis Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). Born in 1941, Meggyesy was raised in a low-income household in Solon, Ohio. Like many athletes from impoverished backgrounds, he was able to use the game of football to better himself though both a full scholarship to Syracuse University and financial stability with the Cardinals. During his career, however, Meggyesy became increasingly disillusioned with the game of football and how its athletes were subject to tremendous physical and psychological turmoil from those in

At the beginning of the movie, Michael is a new student starting at Wingate Christian High School. During the review of his application, the school board discovers Michael is currently holding a 0.6 GPA and scored a below-average 80 IQ on the Standard-Binet Intelligence test. The average score is 85-115. Without the support of the school’s football coach, who sees athletic potential in Michael, the school board most likely would have turned him away. Throughout

In early life and school Michael was the model son and pupil. He was more familiar with PE ratios than dead arms, said 'Whom' instead of 'Who' and was noticeably pleased when disruptive individuals were sent to the office. He was destined to do well and appeared to have only one weakness – no sense of fashion.